Mechanism for insuring engine control according to given orders



J. OLSSON 2,241,475

MECHANISM FOR INSURING ENGINE CONTROL ACCORDING TO GIVEN ORDERS May 13, 1941.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 16. 1939 y 1941- J. OLSSQN 2,241,475

MECHANISM FOR INSURING ENGINE CONTRODACCORDING TO GIVEN ORDERS Filed Sept. 16, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 13, 1941 MECHANISM FOR INSURING ENGINE CON- TROL ACCORDING TO GIVEN ORDERS Johannes Olsson, Goteborg, Sweden, assignor to Aktiebolaget Gotaverken, Goteborg, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Application September 16, 1939, Serial No. 295,213 In Sweden September 17, 1938 8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in mechanisms for insuring engine control according to signals given by an engine telegraph or the like.

One object of the invention is to prevent the engineer who is in charge of the engine, and who has received and repeated an order to drive the engine ahead by mistake from operating the engine astern, or vice versa, which sometimes happens during the operation of ship engines and which may result in severe accidents.

For this purpose, according to the invention, a control member adapted for operation of the engine is combined with means for repeating received orders and means adjusted by said repeating means according to repeated orders in position for blocking movements of said control member into not repeated positions.

Further features of the invention are set forth by the following specification and claims.

In the drawings one embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of the engine of a ship and a section through the bridge showing the engine telegraph.

Fig. 2 illustrates on a larger scale the general arrangement of the mechanisms according to the invention.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section on line IIIIII in Fig. 2 on a still larger scale.

- Fig. 4 is a front view of a portion of a control dial.

Fig. 5 is a section on line VV in Fig. 3, and

Fig. 6 is an extension of a section on line VI-VI in Fig. 5.

Fig. 1 shows a side view of an engine I and a section of a bridge 2 of a ship. An engine telegraph is provided comprising a signal transmitter on the bridge and a signal indicating device in the engine room. The engine telegraph on the bridge comprises a post 3, which carries the signal transmitter 4 and a signal indicating device 5 movable before a dial 6. In the engine room an engine telegraph is provided on a support I carried by the frame 8 of the engine. Said engine telegraph comprises a signal transmitter 9 for repeating orders indicated by a signal indicating device it], which is movable over a dial H, The engine telegraph in the engine room is connected with the engine telegraph on the bridge by means of wires, ropes, chains l2, I3 or the like so that the transmitter 4 is connected with the indicating device 10 and the transmitter 9 with the indicating device 5. The dials 6 and l l of the engine telegraph are provided with indications such as slow ahead, half speed, full speed, astern etc. in the conventional manner. A dial l4 carrying similar indications is centrally disposed at the frame 8 of the engine, and for operating the engine a control wheel I5 is provided in front of the dial M. A repeating wheel 16 is connected by means of a chain, wire or rope ll with the transmitter 9 for repeating orders received in the engine room, and the wheel It is disposed co-axial with the control wheel E5. The repeating means 9 and I6 are connected in such a manner that the engineer may repeat a received signal by means of the signal transmitter 9 or the wheel 16, the signal transmitter 9 and the wheel l6 being arranged to follow each others movements so that a displacement of one of said means always produces a similar displacement of the other.

The control wheel i5 is secured on a control shaft l8 by means of a key l9, said control shaft forming behind the dial l4 a bow 2E]. The control shaft in known manner carries actuating means for starting, reversing, fuel control gears or the like of the engine. A catch 2| is pivotally mounted at the rear of the control wheel i5, said patch being forced by a spring 22 to engage notches 23 on the dial I4 so that the control wheel i5 may always be kept in the position, in which it is adjusted. The repeating wheel I6 is secured on a shaft 24 by means of a key 25, said shaft being journalled in the control shaft l8 and carrying behind the dial M a grooved wheel 26, a sprocket or the like, which is engaged by the rope H, a corresponding chain or the like. A U-shaped blocking member 21 is displaceable longitudinally of the control shaft I3 on the shaft 24 and a guide stud 28 secured and extending from the rear of the dial [4 slidably supports said blocking member. The blocking member 21 has two legs 29 and 39, which embrace and enclose the wheel 26 and which are provided with recesses or undercut portions 3! and 32, respectively, at the faces which are turned towards the wheel '26, said wheel 26 being provided withprojections 33 and 34 adapted to cooperate with said recesses. When the blocking member 2! is displaced completely to the left in Fig. 3, the projection 34 engages the recess 32 in the leg 39 whereas the projection 33 moves clear of the leg 29, compare also Fig. 6. When the repeating wheel 16 is turned to the right in Figs. 1 or 2, the blocking member 27 is moved completely to the right in Fig. 3 or downwards in Fig. 6, since the projection 34 moves over the sloping portion of the recess 32 whereas the projection 33 moves freely in the recess 3|. Cams 35 and 36, respectively, are provided on the outsides of the legs 29 and 39 and form abutments 31, 38 for the arms 39, 40 of the bow 20. The

gap of the bow 20 is so large that the bow grasps over the legs 29, 3B of the blocking member 21 together with one of the cams 35, 36, but not so large that both cams can be grasped simultaneously.

The above described mechanism operates in the following manner:

When the engineer receives an order to carry out a certain operation he knows this by watching the indicating device III, which moves over the dial II and indicates the ordered operation. The engineer then replies the order by moving the signal transmitter or lever '9 or the wheel Hi to the corresponding position on the dial H or M, respectively. The indicating device 5 at the engine telegraph on the bridge then shows the person, who has given the order, that the engineer has understood the order correctly. If, for instance, the engineer has been ordered to operate the engine ahead on a certain speed, he turns the wheel IE to the left in view of Fig. 2 to the corresponding position on the dial H1. The turning of the wheel [6 moves the lever 9 to the corresponding position on the dial I I and the movement of the lever 9 is transmitted to the indicating device 5 by means of the wires l3. During the turning of the repeating wheel E6 to the left in Fig. 2 the projection 33 forces the blocking member 21 to the left in Fig. 3 or upwards in Fig. 6, i. e. to take the position illustrated in Figs. 3 and 6. The abutment 31 then prevents the arm 39 from turning to the left in Fig. 5, i. e. it prevents the control wheel l5 from turning to the right in Fig. 2 for operation of the engine astern. However, the abutment 38 does not obstruct the movement of the arm 40 and obviously the control wheel [5 may be turned to the left in Fig. 2 for operation of the engine in the desired manner ahead. When the direction of rotation of the engine is reversed, for instance, when the engineer has received an order for full speed astern, the control wheel l5 must at first be moved to the stop position, Fig. 2, be-' fore the repeating wheel Hi can be turned to the right in Fig. 2 past the stop position in order to inform the person, who gave the order, that the engineer has understood the order correctily. This depends upon the fact that the cam 36 and the blocking member 21, respectively, are prevented from displacement to the right in Fig. 3 and downwards in Fig. 6, respectively, by the arm 43 as long as the control wheel remains turned to the left from the stop position in Fig. 2. However, when the control wheel I5 has been returned to stop position the repeating wheel l6 may be turned to the right to the position, which corresponds to the order indicated by the indicating device Ill, and the projection 34 then displaces the blocking member [8 to the right in Fig. 3 and downwards in Fig. 6 through co-operation with the sloping end face of the recess 32 and the flat inner surface of the leg 30. Now, the abutment 31 does no longer obstruct the arm 39 and consequently the control wheel may be turned to the right in Fig. 2 for carrying out the desired operation, but is prevented from being turned to the left, since the abutment 38 prevents movement of the arm 40 to the right in Fig. 5 and thereby prevents turning of the control wheel I 5 to the left in Fig. 2.

The embodiment of the invention above described and illustrated in the drawings should only be considered as an example, and the details of the invention may naturally be varied in several different ways within the scope of the claims. For instance, the invention may be employed in connection with control mechanisms of any type comprising a control member, which is movable in two different directions, for any type of prime movers, such as steam engines, internal combustion engines or the like. The signal indicating device l0 may be disposed at the dial l4 and in such a case the signal transmitter 9 and the rope or chain I! may be omitted and the ropes l2, 13 lead over the wheel 26 and another suitable wheel provided at the dial M, for instance co-axial with the control wheel IS. The hand wheels l5 and I6 may naturally be replaced by suitable levers or other members.

What I claim is:

1. A mechanism for insuring operation of an engine according .to given orders comprising a movable control member adapted for operation of the engine, means for repeating received orders, and means operated by said repeating means according to repeated orders for blocking movements of said control member other than in accordance with said repeated orders.

2. A mechanism for insuring operation of an engine according to given orders comprising a rotatable control member adapted for operation of the engine by turning movements in two different directions from a neutral position, a rotatable member for repeating received orders journalled co-axially with said control member, and means operated by said repeating member according to repeated orders for blocking turning movements of the control member other than in accordance with said repeated orders.

3. A mechanism for insuring operation of an engine according to given orders comprising a rotatable control member adapted for operation of the engine by turning movements in two different directions from a neutral position, a rotatable order repeating member journalled co-axially with said control member, said repeating member and the control member being adapted to be turned in the same direction for repeating and carrying out an order, respectively, and means operated by said repeating member according to repeated orders for blocking turning movements of the control member other than in accordance with said repeated orders.

4. A mechanism for insuring operation of an engine according to orders indicated on an engine telegraph comprising a rotatable control member adapted for operation of the engine by turning movements in two different directions from a neutral position, a rotatable order repeating member journalled co-axially with said control member, a signal repeating transmitter at the engine telegraph, a transmission between said repeating member and said signal transmitter causing the member and the transmitter to move in timed relation to each other, and means operated by the repeating member according to repeated orders for blocking turning movements of the control member other than in accordance with said repeated orders.

5. A mechanism forinsuring operation of an engine according to given orders comprising a rotatable control member adapted for operation of the engine by turning movements in two different directions, from a neutral position, a rotatable order repeating member journalled co-axially with said control member, and a blocking means displaceable in one direction or the other according to the rotation of said repeating member in one direction or the other, said blocking means being in one displaced position adapted to prevent turning of the control member in one direction and in another displaced position to prevent turning of the control member in the opposite direction.

6. A mechanism for insuring operation of an engine according to given orders comprising a rotatable control member adapted for operation of the engine by turning movements in two different directions from a neutral position, a rotatable order repeating member journalled co-axially with said control member, and a blocking means displaceable longitudinally of the axis of rotation of said control member in one direction or the other according to the rotation of said repeating member in one direction or the other, said blocking member being locked against turning on said axis and in one displaced position adapted to prevent turning of the control member in one direction and in another displaced position to prevent turning of the control member in the opposite direction.

7. A mechanism for insuring operation of an engine according to given orders comprising a rotatable control shaft adapted for operation of the engine by turning movements in two different directions from a neutral position, a rotatable order repeating member journalled co-axially with said control shaft, a blocking means displaceable longitudinally of said shaft according to the rotation of said repeating member in one direction or the other, two cams on said blocking means and a bow formed by the control shaft and embracing the blocking means, one of said cams being arranged to form an abutment for said bow in one displaced position of the blocking means and thereby to prevent rotation of the control shaft in one direction, and the other cam being arranged to form an abutment for the bow in another displaced position of the blocking means and thereby to prevent rotation of the control shaft in the opposite direction.

8. A mechanism for insuring operation of an engine according to given orders comprising a rotatable control member adapted for operation of the engine by turning movements in two different directions from a neutral position, a rotatable order repeating member provided on a shaft journalled co-axially with said control member, a blocking means displaceable longitudinally of said shaft in one direction or the other according to the rotation of said shaft in one direction or the other, and a member such as a Wheel provided with suitable projections secured on the shaft, said member being arranged to cause said displacement of said blocking means when the shaft is turned in one direction or the other, whereas the blocking means in one displaced position is adapted to prevent turning of the control member in one direction and in another displaced position to prevent turning of the control member in the opposite direction.

J OHANNES OLSSON. 

